national coordinator

HHS awards contract for medical identity fraud study

Anne Zieger — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:18:17 -0400

HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has awarded a $450,000 contract to Booz Allen Hamilton to scope out the size of the medical identity theft problem in the U.S. ONCHIT defines medical identity theft as when a person's identifiable health information is improperly used by another part to obtain medical goods or services, or to submit false medical services claims. To date, note ONCHIT officials, no one is quite sure how widespread the problem is, but it seems likely that it's extensive--and anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem is growing. To address this issue, Booz Allen will assess the scope of the problem, hold a meeting to discuss how to fix it, then produce a report on how to proceed.

To find out more about this issue:
- read this iHealthBeat article

Related Articles:
The growing problem of medical identity theft
Trend: Identity thieves get better at stealing medical records
NY hospital worker charged with massive file theft
California expands health data breach rules

Federal HIT coordination office releases five-year plan

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:59:57 -0400

HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONCHIT) has released its five-year strategic plan, designed to help federal agencies synch up their health IT efforts. While the plan is broad, it does dig into two key goals: fostering patient-focused healthcare and population health.

To meet the "patient focused healthcare" goal, ONCHIT would like to see a transition to using electronic health records. Specifically, the agency wants to see private, secure, interoperable data sharing systems adopted, with a collective governance system in place to help guide the emergence of a shared health IT infrastructure. The population health goal, meanwhile, is to provide appropriate access to, and use of electronic health information to boost public health, biomedical research, quality improvement and emergency preparedness.

In addition to describing its broad goals, the ONCHIT report establishes timelines for achieving more than 40 milestones, in areas including adoption, interoperability, privacy and security. The report also provides a useful summary of electronic health information projects underway at agencies across the entire range of the federal government, from AHRQ to the Veterans' Administration.

To learn more about the plan:
- read ONCHIT's report (.pdf)
- read this iHealthBeat item

Study: 75 percent of states developing HIEs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

A new study has concluded that three-quarters of states have begun developing some form of HIE. The study, released by the State-Level HIE Consensus Project, found that while many projects are on the drawing board, some HIEs are almost ready to begin exchanging data. (The Consensus Project is supported by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.) Why so much HIE activity? In large part, state health reform efforts are helping to fuel this trend, as many reformers believe that HIEs are central to improving the way care is delivered. In fact, many of the groups hope to serve, not only as conduits for data, but also to support quality measurement and pay-for-performance initiatives.

To find out more about the study:
- read this Government Health IT article

Related Articles:
RHIOs and HIEs backed by states will win
NJ set to move ahead with statewide HIE plans
Minnesota backs statewide HIE
Kentucky moves ahead with HIE plans

HIMSS08: Kolodner expects increase in EMR use

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Just in case you haven't had your fill, here's more optimism from the feds on HIT adoption. (As for me, it's getting a bit grating, as I don't see enough going on to actually make adoption happen.) At least in this case, the optimism is driven by the likelihood that hospitals will step up, which seems a bit more realistic.

In his HIMSS speech last week, Dr. Robert Kolodner, national coordinator of health information technology, said that he hopes that to see a 50 percent increase in the use of health information technology this year. He's also predicting that the Nationwide Health Information Network will become operational this year, and that EMR vendors will begin incorporating federal standards into their products. Dr. Kolodner contends that an increased use of EMRs will be driven partly by a growth in hospital donations of such software to physicians who practice at their facilities. Thanks to this and other trends, he says, by 2012 at the outside half of all doctors will use EMRs. My question is, how will everyone pay for this?

To get more of Kolodner's predictions:
- read this Government Health IT piece

Related Articles:
Groups say IT changes must be part of national reform. Article
CCHIT invites vendors to apply for EMR pilot. Article

ALSO NOTED: Mayo ditches paper invoicing; ONCHIT asks for help with key HIT definitions; and much more...

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> The Mayo Clinic has ditched paper invoices completely, substituting a paper-free invoicing system. Article

> The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is asking for input on definitions of five key healthcare IT terms. Article

> Case study: A Pennsylvania hospital begins to eliminate paper records. Article

> Royal Philips Electronics is restructuring its healthcare informatics division. Article

And Finally... Japan has launched its first Internet satellite, with hopes to transmit new data at 1.2 GB/s. Article

Study: States making headway on HIE privacy

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Most states have made progress in establishing privacy and security standards for HIEs over the past 18 months, according to a new study. The study, which came from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Agency for healthcare Research and Quality, said that over the past year and a have, 33 states and Puerto Rico have begun to get their arms around practices, policies and laws affecting HIEs. For example, 11 states have seen legislative activity on health data privacy, and four have passed related laws. Meanwhile, seven state collaborative work groups cutting across 43 states and two territories are working on shared privacy and security solutions.

All told, it sounds like not much of substance has happened--generally speaking, this sounds like more talk than action--but it's clear that data privacy and security issues have a higher profile in state policy-making bodies and agencies than than they did a couple of years ago. Now, the question is when all of these efforts will reach critical mass.

To learn more about ONC's report:
- read this Healthcare IT News piece

Related Articles:
More posturing on the HIE front. Editorial
Study: RHIOs/HIEs backed by states will win. Report
NHIN, RHIOs and all of that. Report
What is the business model for sustaining a RHIO? Column

Radical health IT changes not expected in '08

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Despite widespread talk of radical changes in health IT infrastructures and business practices, at least two senior health IT leaders think we're getting ahead of ourselves, according to an interview in Modern Healthcare.

It's not that they don't see new and exciting things on the horizon. For example, David Brailer, first chief of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS, believes that telecommunications tools used for telemedicine are going to be hot, and interoperable home-monitoring devices are likely to be increasingly popular as well. Brailer's now putting his money where his mouth is, as head of Health Evolution Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund.

However, Stephen Lieber, head of HIMSS, says that he's not expecting to see breakout changes in health IT during 2008. For one thing, he notes, nobody's sure what impact Medicare reimbursement cuts--and pay-for-performance programs--will have on their overall operation. He also thinks health IT execs are going to play "wait and see" until the presidential election shakes out, as a lot depends on which candidate moves into the White House.

To get more background from these interviews:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)

Related Articles:
HIMSS: Patient safety top reason for IT investment. Report
Hospital execs stress IT investment for coming years. Report
PwC: Hospital IT can lower death rates. Report
Health plans quicker to invest than providers. Editorial

Health IT bill stalled in Senate

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

A federal bill intended to foster the development of a national HIE and support the development of clinical data-sharing standards has stalled in the Senate. The bill, the Wired for Health Care Quality Act of 2007, is sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-NY). Among other things, the comprehensive bill would create a forum designed to help along the development of HIE technical standards, along with establishing a grant program designed to foster the use of HIT for interoperable data sharing. It would also establish the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as a permanent part of HHS. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill would cost the government about $317 million over the next five years.

Until recently, the bill seemed to be on the fast track to passage by the Senate, but within the last several days, it got booted back to committee. Though the Senators haven't disclosed the reason for the stall, observers believe that mounting concern over a lack of consumer privacy protections in the measure may have caused the delay.

To find out more about the bill:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece
- read this eHealth Initiative summary

Related Articles:
Minnesota backs statewide HIE. Report
Study: RHIOs/HIEs backed by states will win. Report
Why RHIOs shouldn't exist. Editorial
Net firms say 'net neutrality' could harm HIEs. Report
Rhode Island awards $1.7 million HIE contract. Report
What is the business model for sustaining a RHIO? Column

SPOTLIGHT: Getting a grip on HIT terminology

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:52 -0400

Here at FierceHealthIT, I use the term "EMR" rather than "EHR" to describe electronic records, as I believe the word "health" in the latter is unnecessarily vague. But that's just one editor's opinion--and just one of many HIT terms that still aren't set in stone. Now, however, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology hopes to clear away some of the confusion. It's hired a contractor to create common definitions for key terms which can be used industry-wide. Article

Report: RHIOs need governance, technical standards

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:59:55 -0400

A new AHIMA report examining how RHIOs and HIEs are run has concluded that the industry sorely needs technical and governance standards--and a fair amount of direct state guidance and support--to move ahead effectively.

The report, which was funded by a contract with HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, suggests that efforts to make HIEs work should be rooted in the political and financial culture of the states involved.

It suggests that each state should create a single public-private entity that manages HIE efforts; that each state should provide a single point of leadership who can go to bat for the HIEs within government; and that states should work with HIEs to foster interoperability standards.

To learn more about the report:
- read this Health Data Management piece
- read the preliminary report

Related Articles:
Why RHIOs shouldn't exist. Editorial
Study: RHIOs grow slowly, rely on grants. Report
Study: RHIOs/HIEs back by states will win. Report
Long-lived CA RHIO shuts down. Report
A solution for RHIO privacy issues: EHR/EMR "banking." Editorial
Philly RHIO users visit competing providers. Report